Hi! My name is Allen Aldridge and I’m the new guy not just at Mountain Elementary, but also to the Santa Cruz area. I moved here last year from Tuolumne County where my wife and I raised our children and ran our motorcycle business for 20 years. I made the change to education in 2019 (my first year was the start of COVID!). I’ve come to love this work and I’m really looking forward to getting to know this area and this school. Mountain seems like a great place and I’m sure that I’m going to have a great time working with your family.

Fun facts about me:

My wife, Karen, and I have been married for 24 years, but together for over 30 years.

I have two children: Norman (22) and Lilly (19).

I was a coach with the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) for 5 years. We race cross-country mountain bikes and work with students 6th-12th grade.

I learned to play ukulele while also learning how to teach it to the 4th & 5th graders.

I received the 2023 Teacher of the Year Award for my district.

I had a radio show Wednesday nights at Sonora’s local, community station kaad-lp. I love reggae… I played a lot of that.

I cannot stomach zucchini or mustard. I know, it’s weird, but I just can’t.

I love riding motorcycles and mountain bikes. My wife and I each rode our bikes on a 3000 mile motorcycle trip two summers ago.

I love to travel out of the country. I’ve spent considerable time in Australia and have been to Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and parts of Europe. This last summer, I went to Jamaica and Puerto Rico!

On November 8, 2022, California voters approved Proposition 28: The Arts and Music in Schools (AMS) Funding Guarantee and Accountability Act. Mountain Elementary receives an allocation of approximately $28,000 a year. As laid forth in our board approved Prop 28 plan, we use these funds to bring in SPECTRA Artists to do 6-10 week residencies at Mountain to expose students to culturally diverse music and dance.

We are starting the year with one of our FAVORITE artists, Ibrahima Ngom.

Here's a little more about Ibou:

Ibrahima (Ibou) N’gom facilitates community drumming and dancing with adults and students of all ages. He has worked with and performed for elementary though high school students, at-risk youth and university students. He is a SPECTRA Resident Artist. Ibou speaks English, Spanish, French and his native Wolof. His group Domu Africa is a favorite in Santa Cruz and the Bay Area. Together they bring the sights and sounds of Senegal alive through traditional music and dance performances. With his set of student sized instruments Ibou can turn any room into an African drum corp. His patient and friendly teaching style makes him a popular teacher. Born into a Griot family of traditional musicians in Senegal, West Africa, he has been carrying on his family’s musical lineage since childhood. Ibrahima toured with two prominent Senegalese dance companies, the 2nd National Ballet of Senegal and the Ballet Sinomew before coming to the Unites States 15 years ago. Since then Ibou has been working to share his native culture’s music and dance traditions with US audiences and especially students.

Ibou works with students in grades 1-6 on Fridays through October 18th.